viq-2 wrote: > > <Disclaimer> > Q: Why bother signing messages at all? > A: Because I feel like it. > > Yes, I know inline signing is frowned upon, and MIME won't make it do > the list, but that's besides the point as well. > </Disclaimer> > > So, having gotten that out of the way, do you have any opinions on > either? The architecture behind it, the technology being used, social > implications, and so on. Which one would you choose, and why? Who would > you get your keys signed by? > > I just thought I'd ask, seeing as there seem to be at least a few people > with knowledge backing up opinions on similiar subjects. > -- > viq > > >
S/MIME is much more complex (IMO), but you'll find that more MTA's support it. One can also get free Thawte certs for signing/encrypting (but I think they are mostly intended for sigs as they expire yearly). Lots of organization set-up their own CAs (colleges do this often) downside to this is that the certs/sigs are only recognized internally so outside the institution the sigs are useless... that's where something like the Thawte certs come into play. But, then you have the Web of Trust (WOT) and need to find WOT notaries to confirm your ID so that you can get so many points... enough to actually attach a name to the email, national ID, etc. Is your head spinning yet? S/MIME *is* complex! Personally, I like PGP much better as it's much simpler (IMO). It's been around awhile (1991) as has been thoroughly tested. Gnupg has come a long way too... works just as well on Windows as it does on OpenBSD and Linux now. More problems with MTA's. Initial setup can be awkward for non-technical users. Backup the private keys, gen revoke certs, etc. It seems that most companies use PGP to sign stuff, while individuals may be more inclined to use S/MIME for MTA reasons. I use both, but prefer PGP for the simplicity. Just my 2 cents, Brad -- View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/-OT--Signing-messages%3A-S-MIME-vs-OpenPGP---tf4965442.html#a14225222 Sent from the openbsd user - misc mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
